1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bridge assembly for supporting a seat of a motor vehicle. More particularly, the invention is directed to a bridge assembly that supports a front seat above a floor of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A motor vehicle typically includes one or more rows of seats located throughout a passenger compartment for supporting passengers thereon. A front row, for example, may include a pair of bucket-type seats or a single bench-type seat at a front portion of the passenger compartment. Typically, each seat is supported above a floor of the motor vehicle by front seat risers. But these structures have the undesirable effect of dividing the space below the seat(s) into many smaller areas, making storage of items thereunder more difficult.
Various structural members have been developed to support the seat(s) while, at the same time, allowing for greater distribution of side impact forces to the motor vehicle. One example of such a structural member is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,390 to Kleinhoffer et al., which discloses a cross-car side impact beam for supporting one or more seats of a motor vehicle thereabove. The cross-car side impact beam is secured to B-pillars along opposing sides of the motor vehicle, and is spaced above a floor thereof. The cross-car side impact beam has a rearwardly and upwardly sloped portion at its lower surface for providing additional foot space for rear seat passengers or storage space under the seat(s). But the cross-car side impact beam supports only a rear portion of the seat(s) thereabove; a structure is still required to support a front portion of the seat(s). Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a structural member that supports the front and rear portions of the seat(s) thereabove and, at the same time, assists in distribution of side impact forces to the motor vehicle.
A bridge assembly supports a seat in a motor vehicle having opposing B-pillars and a floor extending therebetween. The bridge assembly includes a rear cross car beam having a rear length extending between a rear driver end and a rear passenger end. The rear driver and rear passenger ends are fixedly secured to each of the B-pillars such that the rear cross car beam extends over the floor spaced apart therefrom. A front support structure is spaced forward of the rear cross car beam. In addition, the bridge assembly includes a crossing support extending between the rear cross car beam and the front support structure for strengthening the bridge assembly.